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by Cathy Saint John (Author)
HAILED: A TOUR DE FORCE - ONE FOR THE BOYS is a riveting true story of Sgt. John W. Blake's life. Meticulously written John Blake's adventures, historical accomplishment, his vividly detailed struggle in living and coping with injuries pertaining to his Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and ultimately his self-inflicted death in 1996. This impressive, heartbreaking account will find the reader unable to resist turning page after page. John W. Blake was a proud and patriotic Canadian volunteer who honorably served two tours of duty (eighteen months) with the United States Army in Vietnam. According to his journal from Vietnam, John experienced valor and the horrors of jungle warfare that included the death of his soldier brothers in Vietnam. John was wounded in both his arms and legs on three different occasions by grenade shrapnel. Each time he declined the offer to be 'written-up' by a physician/medic for the renowned Purple Heart award. The Rangers understood that there were worse things than seeing your own blood dripping onto your boots. Most Rangers felt that the Purple Heart was more appropriate for the warriors who suffered life-threatening wounds or ultimately died as a result of their injuries. Blake was the first and only Newfoundlander to earn the renowned 'Green Beret' of the United States Army Special Forces and served as an elite sky soldier with N/75th Rangers of the 173rd Airborne (The Herd). In 1982, in an attempt to heal the strife of American Veterans and the contemptuous divisiveness felt by its citizens prior to the unveiling of the Vietnam Veteran Memorial Wall in Washington, D.C., Blake became the first person to march 3,200 miles across the entire country, in full uniform, while carrying the United States Flag. He did this without an entourage, GPS or any new-age technology. John relied solely on his Ranger skills, ever remembering the motto: Rangers Lead the Way! More unbelievable still, he was a Canadian. John Blake's story is hailed as a roller-coaster of events and emotions. Several chapters and passages will bring the reader to tears. Moreover, the account provides a front-row seat into the raw and disturbing world of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. The reader will likely be shocked and angered, wondering how his native country's Canadian politicians could inflict the ultimate dishonor upon his family and disrespect for his service to its southern ally.
